Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai revealed on Monday evening how a false bank-loan accusation thwarted former President Muhammadu Buhari’s initial plan to appoint Chief Audu Ogbeh as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Speaking at a Night of Tribute at the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre, or ICC, in Abuja shortly after the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the 2015 presidential election, El-Rufai detailed a behind-the-scenes meeting.
He says he was asked for help in obtaining the SGF position by a close friend who had helped the party win. Buhari, the then-elect president, informed El-Rufai that he planned to appoint a Christian from the Middle Belt to the top position and asked El-Rufai to communicate the decision.
According to El-Rufai, Buhari later revealed that he had chosen Audu Ogbeh as his sole candidate for the position.
The plan was altered, though, when some people close to the president allegedly asserted that Ogbeh would be sidetracked by personal debts and owed banks up to N2 billion from his agricultural endeavors. El-Rufai informed the audience, “The president called me again and said he was appointing someone else as SGF because of some issues that had arisen.”
Following the announcement, I learned that he had been informed that Chief Ogbeh owed a sizable loan and would prioritize loan repayment over the position.
“He operates a successful farm and was repaying the loan; borrowing is not a crime.” Buhari subsequently acknowledged that he had been duped and attempted to make amends by designating Ogbeh as Minister of Agriculture, El-Rufai continued.
“This is the first time I’ve ever said this,” El-Rufai said, adding that the discussion had been kept confidential until the memorial service.
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